Cinematographer Dave Gaudet learns about Navajo code talkers and also travels to Petawawa, Ontario to visit with a modern-day Canadian war hero.

Heroes are people who sacrifice to keep us safe. Real-life heroes in Navajo country include the WWII Code Talkers. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Teddy Draper, Sr. was one of 400 enlisted Navajos who used their previously suppressed language as a successful secret code in the war against the Japanese. Their accomplishments remained a highly protected secret until the late 1969’s. Subsequently the Navajo Nation took a new pride in their language and its rejuvenation. At Window Rock, Dave visits the Navajo Nation fair at the National Code Talker Monument.

Back across the Medicine Line Dave meets a Canadian hero from a new generation. At historic military base CFB Petawawa, war hero Corporal Jason Funnell, a member of the Haida Nation, modestly describes his heroic service in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa. Chief Warrant Officer Chris Young reminds us that aboriginal people have always been part of the Canadian military. Tommy Prince, an Ojibway from Manitoba, was part of the elite World War II First Special Service Force. But the Canadian Armed Forces, once primarily a white Anglo-Saxon group, now reflect the cultural mosaic of Canada.

Golden Sheaf Award for Best Documentary Series at the Yorkton Film Festival